Kaleidoscopic joins Keep Safe in Wokingham Campaign

Involve Community Services and Wokingham’s Community Safety Partnership launched the Keep Safe Campaign, this entailed a series of engaging webinars throughout February to raise awareness and promote safety.

Keep Safe in Wokingham involved voluntary sector groups, local government professionals, schools and other key stakeholders to collaborate, learn and share resources for keeping our community safe.

The webinars were free to attend and each session was held for different audiences including parents and carers, local practitioners, with some open to people of all ages.

The campaign hoped to increase awareness about challenges such as cybercrime (e.g. scams and hacking and how to avoid being a victim), domestic abuse and exploitation, technology enabled abuse and how everyone can keep safe online. The aim is to help residents navigate the digital world and understand its impact on the real world.

The mother of murdered teenager Olly Stephens will be one of the speakers. Amanda Stephens’ 13-year-old son Olly was murdered by three teenagers in 2021, in a crime linked to social media. Speaking at the campaign’s launch event, she will tell her family’s personal story of losing their son Olly.

Chief Executive of the Council and Chair of the Community Safety Partnership, Susan Parsonage said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Involve Community Services to launch the Keep Safe in Wokingham campaign. The webinars will empower residents to become confident about safety, especially for young and vulnerable people, helping to build a more resilient borough, both online and in the real world. Our priority is to build and maintain great communities, and we want to help everyone in the borough feel safe and supported.”

Leader of the council, Cllr Stephen Conway said: “Partnership working is a council priority and we have been working with Involve Community Services on the Keep Safe in Wokingham campaign since last September. The line-up of speakers are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our community.

“I’d like to encourage as many people, including parents, carers and local practitioners, to sign up to these informative webinars. The topics are on current, day-to-day online matters. There is something for everyone.”

Chief Executive Officer at Involve Community Services Philip Bell said: “I am delighted that our charity is working with Wokingham’s Community Safety Partnership to bring the borough’s first Keep Safe month. If we manage to keep just one resident safe from harm as a consequence, our unified efforts will be more than worthwhile.”

Event speakers included Involve Community Services, Cyber Choices, Kaleidoscopic UK, NSPCC, Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit, Youthworks Consultancy, Reading Students’ Union, South East Regional Crime Unit, Tellmi Mental Health App and Amanda Stephens.

Our CEO Victoria Robertson BEM led the session covering domestic abuse, shared some lived experience and also highlighted the reality faced by many as well as how we can help all victim-survivors go from ‘Surviving to Thriving’ in Wokingham Borough and beyond.

Vickie expressed her thoughts “I am so grateful to have been asked to host a session, raise awareness and share the realities faced. Together we are louder and united we can create change. We might not be able to prevent others behaviour but we can make sure we know where we can get support and learn the warning signs to help ourselves and others. Thank you Involve for hosting and bringing so many together.”